Music review: Jane's Addiction, 'The Great Escape Artist'

Weeks after playing an entertaining show at Chicago's intimate Metro, Jane's Addiction delivers "The Great Escape Artist" (Capitol) [], the band's fourth proper studio outing in its fractured history and its first in eight years. The playful energy Lollapalooza founder Perry Farrell displayed on stage, however, is muted and leaden in these recordings, a set of alarmingly patient, mid-tempo songs that opens bloodlessly and never really palpitates despite Dave Navarro's obtrusive, wanky guitars. TV on the Radio's Dave Sitek decorates the occasionally sweet melodies and well-written tunes with color and sound in the form of MIDI effects and synth flavors. But the freak flag flutters limply throughout the set, which isn't a bad thing (it would be worse if Farrell was still trying to be the psychedelic star child at this point), and the band doesn't attempt anything weird and wild until the very last track, the lurching "Words Right Out of My Mouth." If you've made it that far, though, you don't care much anymore.